SurveyMonkey/Axios poll: privacy deep dive

Laura Wronski1 min read

Consumers know their privacy isn’t fully protected by the online services and products they use, and they want the companies that make use of their personal data to change their behavior. But, they don’t want to have to start paying to use the services and products they are accustomed to getting for free.

A majority of people (59 percent) say they are not confident their privacy is protected by companies whose services or products they use online.

58 percent of people say “the threat to personal privacy online is a crisis, and we need forced changes to the way companies operate”, while far fewer, 38 percent, say “online services are essential to modern life, and we all have to accept some risk to personal data”

In the data economy, companies are increasingly using their customers’ personal data in order to offer better and more individualized products and services. When asked about this:

43 percent of people say this an inappropriate use of their data

29 percent say it’s appropriate

26 percent say it’s neither inappropriate nor appropriate

Still, nearly two-thirds (65 percent) say they’re unlikely to pay for a company to not track their personal data.

Click through all of the results for yourself below:

How confident are you that your privacy is protected by the companies whose services or products you use online?How likely is it that you would pay a fee in exchange for a company to NOT track your data while using their product?What is the most you would be willing to pay a company, per month, in exchange for it to NOT track your data while using their product? Which of the following comes closer to your view, even if neither is exactly right?(Online services are essential to modern life, and we all have to accept some risk to personal data / The threat to personal privacy online is a crisis, and we need forced changes to the way companies operate)In the data economy, companies are increasingly using their customers’ personal data in order to offer better and more individualized products and services. In general, do you see this as an appropriate or inappropriate use of such data?What type of smartphone do you use? If you own more than one phone, please select the one you use most often. Which type of data from your smartphone would you most want to keep private? (Photos / Email / Text messages / App data / Location data)